Archival cartridge management system with auto-refresh

ABSTRACT

An archival cartridge management system for conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archival operations is disclosed. The archival cartridge management system includes a cartridge holder and a controller. The cartridge holder has a connector configured for coupling to a removable data cartridge. The connector is coupled to the controller, which performs archival functions on removable data cartridges. The controller reads from removable data cartridges to determine if at least some data stored on a removable data cartridge should be refreshed. If so, the controller refreshes data stored on the removable data cartridge.

This application claims the benefit of and is a non-provisional of U.S.Pat. application Ser. No. 60/626,267, filed on Nov. 8, 2004, which isassigned to the assigner hereof and hereby expressly incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates in general to data storage and, morespecifically, but not by way of limitation, to data cartridges and datasystems.

The prior art in archival media are tape cartridges. Tape cartridgesneed to be periodically rewound in order to re-pack and re-tension thetape. Archive facilities typically have a simple tape rewinder devicewhich loads the tape cartridge and winds it from end-to-end and thenunloads it again. These devices have no ability to read or write thedata or make any determination about the status of the recorded data.

Some tape cartridges contain an electronic memory chip separate from thetape medium which can be used to store some metadata. Often these memorychips are coupled to a RFID system to enable wirelessly reading of thememory. These memory chip systems have no ability to provide stateinformation relating to the data recorded on the tape. There is noability to refresh the data recorded on a tape cartridge without firstloading the cartridge into a tape drive system, reading the contents ofthe tape using the software application that created the tapeoriginally, and either copying the contents to a system disk drive ordirectly to a second tape drive. Refreshing the data on the tape is doneback at the data center, thus requiring that the cartridges betransported back to the data center for management and then back againto the storage facility.

One of the technical limitations of electronic or electromechanical orsolid state media such as hard disk drives (HDDs) or flash memory istheir finite life. In the case of the HDD, the storage life of the mediais limited by phenomena such as magnetic thermal decay (MTD), which isthe physical phenomenon whereby the strength of recorded magnetic bitsdecrease over time. Another HDD limitation is the ability of motors andbearings to operate after being in an inactive state for a period ofmonths or years. A further limitation is corrosion of the heads andmedia over time. In the case of flash memory, one limit on archive lifeis the finite time that the electric charge persists in the memorycells.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appendedfigures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an archival cartridgemanagement system (ACMS) device coupled to a removable data cartridgeand a cartridge database;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an archival managementcontroller coupled to an electric connector;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a cartridge database;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automated ACMS coupledto four removable data cartridges;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automated archivalmanagement controller;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automated ACMS with acartridge battery pack;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for manual ACMSoperation; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for automated ACMSoperation.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only,and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configurationof the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferredexemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with anenabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment.It being understood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope asset forth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits maybe shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments inunnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes,algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessarydetail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed, but could have additional steps not includedin the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the functionto the calling function or the main function.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium.A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, an embodiment of this invention isimplemented with hardware and/or software to manage removable datacartridges 106 that are used for off-line long-term archival datastorage. An archival cartridge management system (ACMS) device 100 isused to manage and condition one or more removable data cartridges 106using and archival management controller 102, an embodiment of which isillustrated in FIG. 2. In this embodiment an external cartridge database112 is used to store particulars on the various removable datacartridges 106 that the ACMS device 100 encounters. Other embodimentscould integrate the cartridge database 112 into the ADMS device 100. Instill another embodiment, the cartridge database 112 is a distributeddatabase such that many ACMS devices can share information. Oneapplication is for a removable data cartridge 106 containing a hard diskdrive (HDD) as the storage medium, but the system can be used with othertypes of electronic storage media such as flash memory or removabledisks in various other embodiments.

To manage removable data cartridges 106 in an archival application, theACMS device 100, reads the status of the data cartridge contents anddetermines the state of the recorded data. Another embodiment of theACMS device 400 shown in FIG. 4 allows accepting four cartridges 106 inparallel, but other embodiments could accommodate any number ofcartridges 106. Such ACMS devices 100, 400 could be either portable(e.g. handheld) or be installed in the archival storage facility wherethe data cartridges 106 are kept.

The ACMS device 100 contains a docking port or cartridge holder 104 withan electrical connector 108 to receive the data cartridge 106. Thecartridge connector 108 mates with another electrical connector 110 ofthe removable data cartridge 106 to provide electrical power and/orcommunicate. In the case of a HDD-type removable data cartridge 106, theACMS device 100 cause the HDD to power-up and spin the disks. Thisoperation will increase the longevity of the motors and bearings bycausing them to move, reflow their lubricants and generally avoidstiction or seizing. In one embodiment, the disk spinning operation isdone at least once for each insertion and can be done periodically for aHDD left in the cartridge holder.

The ACMS device 100 could read the archival cartridge metadata (ACM) ofthe removable data cartridge 106 in order to identify the cartridge 106and gather information related to its contents. Additionally, the ACMSdevice 100 can read the archival sense field (ASF) to determine theaging state of the stored data. A data refresh operation to re-write thedata can be performed by the ACMS device 100 if the ASF indicates thatthe data has degraded beyond some threshold.

The ACMS device 100 analyzes the removable data cartridge 106. Analysiscan include reading the ACM, determining the elapsed time since the lastrecording, reading the ASF, and/or reading the actual data from thecartridge 106. If the analysis indicates that data on the cartridge 106is in peril of losing integrity, the data may be re-recorded in the ACMSdevice 100. The analysis and refresh can happen automatically by theACMS device 100. For example, should the archival management controller102 find errors when reading from the HDD, the recovered data aftererror correction can be re-recorded to the HDD in situ.

Archival Cartridge Metadata (ACM)

The information contained in the ACM generally relates to the physicaldata cartridge (e.g., serial #, manufacturer, capacity, manufacturedate, warranty expiration, etc.), the archival data format (ADF) itself(e.g. revision of ADF, any extensions to ADF, etc.), the HDD containedin the cartridge 106 (e.g., cartridge capacity, manufacture date,manufacturer, warranty expiration, formatting parameters, size, etc.),and the data recorded on the cartridge (e.g., time stamp of whenrecorded, user, software used for backup, version of the software,computer identifier, encryption standard used, compression standardused, etc.). The table below lists examples of information in anembodiment of the ACM.

Field Field Description # Bytes Format Name “RDX © 2004, ProStor 32Systems, Inc.” Cart Type logical format type: 1 type can include RDXserial access, RDX random access, software update, etc. Format Revision# “001.1.1” 7 Cart Capacity # of Gbytes on media 2 Media Sector Size #bytes per addressable 2 sector Frame Size # of sectors in Frame 2structure Write Access Control Write enable bits to enable 1 WORM, ROMmodes Cartridge Serial # Globally-unique 128-bit ID 16 Volume ID #application defined - could 8 be bar code # Volume ID name applicationdefined 128 Volume Date/Time Stamp last recorded date/time 16Compression control Compression control byte 1 Security Control:Security ID 4 Read Access mode Security Control: Data Encryption control1 Data Encryption mode Security Control: Data Encryption public key 16Data Encryption Key Last Media Certified Date last scanned & certified16 date/time - also used for media “refresh” operation Cartridge Status:indicates whether last 1 Volume Open/Closed write operation finishedDirectory First LBA First Directory LBA # 4 Beginning of DirectoryDirectory Last LBA Last Directory LBA # 4 end of Directory ArchivalSense Field First LBA# of ASF 4 Starting LBA Encryption Used Triple DES2 End-of-Data LBA LBA of end-of data Frame 4 CRC check bytes 4Compression Used LZW 1

The ACM may be recorded in a special area of the disk which provideshigher data reliability than the normal data area in this embodiment.This area of higher reliability helps ensure that the ACM can be read,even if the data area has degraded over time. In one embodiment, thehigher data reliability is achieved by the use of data tracks recordedon a wider-than-normal track pitch toward the outer edges of a disk inthe HDD. The wider track pitch results in less track misregistration(TMR) by the magnetic head over the track and higher signal-to-noiseratio, combining to ensure a lower bit error rate. In other embodiments,a higher-power write head could be used in the manufacturing process towrite this information or it could be written with more robust errorcorrection principals. In one embodiment, the disk could be testedduring manufacture to find the best location for the ACM.

One embodiment writes the ACM information to a solid state memory (e.g.,flash, magnetic ram, core memory, battery backed memory, etc.). Thesolid state memory could be in the HDD or outside the HDD and within theremovable data cartridge 106. One embodiment uses a RFID tag orsmartchip in the removable data cartridge 106 with non-volatile memoryto store the ACM.

Some of the metadata contained in the ACM relates to the physicalcartridge and is permanently and uniquely associated with a particularremovable data cartridge 106. As such, the ACM should not beinadvertently erased or overwritten by anything other than the ACMSdevice 100. In order to prevent unauthorized access, the ACM area of theHDD is accessed by means of special commands available only to the ACMSdevice 100 that maintains the ACM data. These commands may utilize PBAs(physical block addresses) rather than LBAs (logical block addresses) inthis embodiment.

The normal computer operating systems (e.g., Windows, UNIX, Linux, etc.)have no visibility into the ACM area of the disk and no ability to eraseor write to that area in this embodiment. The ACM normally remainsintact even if the disk is reformatted, for example. The ACM is recordedacross multiple sectors in a way that permanent data (related to thephysical cartridge and embedded HDD) is grouped separately from variabledata related to the recorded contents, ensuring no accidental erasure inthe event of archival management controller 102 malfunction. The HDDfirmware can be updated in some embodiments to allow reserving the ACMand preventing any writes without using the special commands. The ACMdata may be recorded multiple times to provide further data integrity.

One of the features of the ACM is a globally-unique serial number thatcannot be changed after the removable data cartridge 106 ismanufactured. In one embodiment, industry-standard IPv6 addresses areused that enable the cartridges to be uniquely identified on theInternet. One embodiment allows modification of the globally-uniqueserial number, but only allows certain parties to change the serialnumber. For example, a key may be required to change the serial number,but could be performed when a cartridge 106 is repaired.

Another of the features of the ACM is the ability to perform writeaccess control. A control byte in the ACM determines whether or not aparticular field can be written to and how many times. In many archivaldata storage applications, the archival media are not allowed to bechanged or overwritten after the original recording. This is commonlyknown as Write-Once Read-Mostly mode or WORM. A variation on WORM allowsnew data to be appended to the original data, without changing any ofthe original data. Another variation is Read-Only Mode or ROM where thedata cannot be erased or written at all. This is commonly used fordistribution of information such as software updates that are notintended to be modified. The inclusion of the write access control fieldin the ACM makes it possible for the archival management controller 102to enforce WORM or other operation without the possibility of the WORMstatus being altered intentionally or unintentionally by a dataapplication. The data application may or may not have the ability tochange the value of the write access control field in variousembodiments.

Several other features relate to data security on the cartridge. Thefirst is security ID field which stores a password for access to thecartridge data. The second is data encryption mode and/or key fields.The data encryption mode field specifies whether the recorded data isencrypted and by which method. The data encryption key field stores the“public key” for industry-standard data encryption algorithms such asRSA, but other embodiments could use private keying schemes such as AES,triple-DES or DES. The public key is used together with a “private key”known only to the owner of the cartridge to decode the data.

The last media certified date field stores a date/time code for the lasttime the data cartridge was scanned for errors and certified for dataintegrity by the archival management controller 102. This feature isalso used in conjunction with the ASF described below to trigger anymedia refresh operation.

Archival Sense Field (ASF)

The ASF can be used to diagnose media aging and data degradation overtime in one embodiment. The ASF is recorded as a special data patternsequence of one or more sectors, such as a large number of sectors, forexample, one hundred sectors. The ASF pattern is designed to reflect thedegree of magnetic degradation of the recorded data bits on the mediawhen read back. The data pattern in ASF is designed to be “worst-case”from the perspective of magnetic thermal decay (MTD) and corrosion ofthe magnetic heads and media, physical HDD phenomena that can causerecorded data to become unrecoverable over time. In one embodiment, theASF is recorded in the normal part of the disk using LBAs andconsequently degrades similarly to the user data recorded elsewhere onthe HDD.

In one embodiment, the ASF is designed to degrade more quickly than theother data on the removable hard disk cartridge 106. The ASF could beplaced on the portions of the disk drive most prone to failure, forexample. Error correction could be avoided for the ASF such that anyerror correction circuits of the HDD would not mask problems with theASF. Some embodiments could also employ theoretical error models thatcould override any determination made about the ASF. For example, if thedata were known to decay after ten years and the ASF were still showingno errors, remedial measures could be taken anyway because of thetheoretical models. In this embodiment, degradation found using the ASFcould cause earlier remedial measures, but those measures would be takenafter a period of time regardless.

HDDs use data randomizing circuits to randomize data in order to avoidextended sequences of worst-case magnetic patterns. A “de-randomized”worst-case pattern is mathematically determined by operating the datarandomizing algorithm in reverse. Alternatively, a known worst-casepattern could be used in some embodiments. The repeated worst-case bitpatterns in the ASF will likely degrade more rapidly than normal randomdata on the disk, thereby predicting when the data portions of the HDDare at risk.

The sensing operation works by the archival management controller 102reading the ASF while monitoring the bit-error-rate (BER) anderror-correction code (ECC) functions in the internal HDD circuits. Thesensing operation may also work by reading ordinary data sectors. Whenthe BER and ECC indicators fall outside some predetermined threshold,the magnetic bits on the media have decayed to a point where theintegrity of the recorded data is at risk. At-risk data cartridges canbe automatically repaired using a “refresh” operation whereby the datais first read by the HDD and then rerecorded in situ in order to refreshthe magnetic domains.

This refresh feature can be used in conjunction with a “MediaCertification” operation to certify the integrity of the data and with a“Media Refresh” operation which can re-record all of the data in placeto refresh the magnetic domains and prolong the archival media life. TheMedia Certification operation first reads the ASF to determine thedegradation state of the media and then reads each data sector tovalidate the data integrity. The magnetic signal in the ASF could bechecked for bit errors or the magnitude of the signal could be noted.Where excessive bit errors or the magnetic signal has excessivelydegraded, remedial measures can be taken.

If during a media certification operation the archival managementcontroller 102 determines by means of reading and monitoring the ASFthat the data is degraded, the archival management controller 102 canthen initiate a Media Refresh operation. During Media Refresh, each datasector on the HDD is read, verified and then re-written in its originallocation to refresh the magnetic bits. If there are data sectors holdingdata that cannot be read during media certification or media refresh,forward error correction (FEC) can be used to correct the erroneous databytes before re-recording. After media certification or media refresh,the Last Certified Date field of the ACM is updated with the currentdate/time code.

The media refresh process can be a background task performed in betweenaccesses to the removable data cartridge 106 or could require haltingnormal operations until the process completed. In one embodiment, whenthe data is written the time is noted. Media refresh automaticallyoccurs after a period after that time expires in one embodiment. Thismay not be possible when the removable data cartridge 106 is notpowered, but could be done when powered on the next time. The oldestwritten data could be refreshed first upon the next power cycle. Iferrors are noted in the oldest data, a complete refresh could beperformed.

Referring next to FIG. 2, the archival management controller 102contained in the ACMS device 100 has a display 208 and user interface212 to display cartridge metadata, data aging status and to activatevarious cartridge management operations. Some embodiments could includea computer that has application software to provide these functions. TheACMS device 100 could be wired or wirelessly coupled to the computerwith the application software.

The ACMS device 100 could retain information about the cartridges 106which have been loaded and their state and managed for use with aninternal or external cartridge management database. The internalmanagement database could be stored in a cartridge information memory216. In some embodiments, the most recent cartridge information isstored in a cartridge information memory 216, but a larger externalcartridge database 112 stores more extensive cartridge information. Witha portable ACMS device 100, there could be an interface to a fixedcartridge database 112 such as the one shown in FIG. 3. The database 112is updated with the latest information from one or more ACMS devices100.

Various connections with the ACMS device 100 are possible. Theconnection between the ACMS device 100 and the cartridge database 112could be wireless or wired. In one embodiment, the cartridge informationmemory 216 stores cartridge information until a wired connection allowsloading the cartridge information in the database 112. This embodimentuses a SATA interface 204 to the removable data cartridge 106, but anyhard drive or tape protocol could be used in other embodiments, forexample, PATA, SAS, and/or SCSI.

The cartridge database 112 contains information about the cartridge ID,contents, archive date, physical location, last ACMS device 100 access,last data refresh, etc. The cartridge database 112 provides the systemuser with the ability to set management policies and provide alerts whenspecific cartridges are scheduled to be read with an ACMS device 100.The cartridge database 112 could be run on a general-purpose computer orcould be a dedicated system(s).

One form of the ACMS device 400 shown in FIG. 4 is a design whichaccommodates the long-term storage of multiple data cartridges 106 (e.g.4, 10 or 100 cartridges) in individual cartridge holders 104 allconnected to the system's electronics and software that implement anautomated archival management controller 402. This system is designedwith a real-time clock circuit 504 that can keep track of date and timeas shown in the block diagram of FIG. 5.

This automated ACMS device 400 also contains an electronic record ofcartridges 106 encountered. EEPROM, FEPROM or other non-volatile memorycould be used in for the cartridge information memory 216. The recordincludes the last date/time that the cartridge 106 was accessed. Therecord could be stored in the cartridge information memory 216 and/or inan external cartridge database 112.

This embodiment of the automated ACMS device 400 is designed toautomatically perform ACMS functions (power-up, read the cartridgemetadata, read the sense field state and optionally perform the datarefresh operation) based on pre-established policies, such as elapsedtime since last access. The elapsed time for the elapsed time wait couldbe a function of the ASF for a particular cartridge such that checks aremore frequent as the data ages, for example.

The automated ACMS device 400 provides automated archival storagemanagement without periodically requiring human intervention. Thecartridges 106 are just plugged in available holders 104 andconditioning takes place automatically. Such a system can be designedwith wired (e.g., Ethernet, FireWire, USB, and/or parallel) or wirelessinterfaces (e.g. 802.11 WiFi, WiMAX, WiBro, and/or BlueTooth) to connectto a database system 112 located elsewhere in the facility using a LANor in a different location using a WAN. The depicted embodiment includesfour SATA interfaces 204, but a single SATA or other interface could beused with a switching mechanism in other embodiments.

One challenge for use of an automated ACSM device 600 is that many typesof storage locations (e.g., a secure vault) may not provide electricalpower in one embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an embodiment where one or more ofthe data cartridges are replaced with a removable cartridge battery pack604. The battery pack 604 is designed to supply power to the systemthrough the electrical connector and holder 104 as an alternative to aconventional AC power source. The cartridge holder and connector 104 canbe designed so that any cartridge slot can be used for a battery pack604 and more than one battery can be installed at any given time. Thisis accomplished by including extra power connections in the connectorthat interface to the power supply circuits in the control electronicsas illustrated in FIG. 6. Some embodiments could have an internalbattery or use another port for a removable battery. The battery couldbe used for primary power when no main power or used as anuninterruptible power supply.

The power supply circuits 608 are designed to allow the power source tobe either AC power or battery DC power. The power circuits 608 thensupply power to the control electronics which supply power to thecartridges 106. The battery pack(s) 604 can include a rechargeablebattery that can be periodically recharged. In this embodiment, the userwould periodically replace the installed cartridge battery pack with anewly charged one, thus providing continuous power to the ACMS device600. A status indicator or audible alarm of the battery pack 604 couldwarn when power was running low.

In one embodiment, the control electronics in the ACMS device 600minimizes power consumption so that the battery pack 604 may operate forlong periods of time. The data cartridges may be energized and monitoredat infrequent intervals, such as once per month or once per year. Inbetween these intervals, the control electronics can operate in a sleepmode. The real-time clock circuit 504 can de designed to awaken themicrocomputer from sleep mode when the desired management interval haselapsed.

In one embodiment, use of the ACMS device 100 increases the longevityand reliability of the archival media and provides tracking of the stateof the cartridges. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a flowchart for ahandheld or manually operated ACMS device 100. The depicted portion ofthe process begins in step 704 where the ACMS device 100 is initializedbefore the cartridge information memory 216 is initialized in step 708.A determination in step 712 holds the process until a cartridge 106 isinserted. The cartridge 106 is energized in step 716.

A determination in step 720 is performed to confirm the cartridge 106 isready. If not ready, a timeout test is performed in step 724 beforelooping back to step 720. Should it be determined in step 724 that atimeout has occurred before the cartridge 106 is determined ready instep 720, processing goes to step 728 where an error condition isactivated. In one embodiment, the error condition causes diagnosticsand/or notification of the condition to the user.

Where the cartridge 106 is determined ready in step 720, processingcontinues to step 732 where cartridge metadata or ACM is read. The ASFis read in step 736. This ASF and/or ACM could be analyzed to determineor partially determine if the cartridge 106 is due for refresh in step740. This analysis could use information in the cartridge informationmemory 216 and/or cartridge database 112. If a refresh is warranted, therefresh is performed in step 744. This refresh process could be for thewhole drive or merely a portion.

Where no refresh is warranted in step 740 or where the refresh hasalready been performed in step 744, processing goes to step 748 wherethe ACM is updated. The cartridge information memory 216 and/orcartridge database 112 are updated in step 748. Finally, the cartridgeis de-energized in step 756 before looping-back to step 712. In somecircumstances, the cartridge 106 could be kept active to perform variousarchival tasks (e.g., backup, restore, read, write, verify, etc.).

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the basic automated ACMS device 100, 400,600 operation for one embodiment. A user need only plug in thecartridge(s) 604 and monitor for errors displayed on the user display208. Some embodiments could have an audible alarm, status web pages, orautomated electronic messaging when a cartridge 106 fails or isapproaching a likely failure. This embodiment could have multiplecartridges 106 coupled to the automated ACMS device 600 at one time.

The depicted portion of the process begins in step 800 where thereal-time clock (RTC) 504 is initialized before entering a sleep mode instep 804. The RTC 504 can break out of sleep mode based upon adetermination made in step 808. Exit from sleep mode causes the processto advance to step 812 where the ACMS device wakes. The cartridgeinformation memory 216 from each cartridge 106 is read in step 816.Where none are due for management, processing returns to step 800. Thosecartridges due for management are queued in step 824.

The next cartridge 106 in the sequence is energized in step 828. Thosethat do not properly energize are found in steps 720, 724 and 728.Determining if refresh is due and performing the refresh is performed ina manner similar to that done in FIG. 7 before proceeding to step 832where a determination is made to find if all the cartridges 106 withmaintenance due have been processed. Where there are other cartridges106 due, processing loops back to step 828. This sub-process continuesin a loop until all the cartridges 106 due maintenance are processed.

The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. Forexample, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing unitswithin a access point or a access terminal may be implemented within oneor more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,other electronic units designed to perform the functions describedherein, or a combination thereof.

Although the above embodiments describe use of the ACMS device in therefresh determination and refresh process, other embodiments couldperform these functions without needing the ACMS device. The firmware ofa HDD could perform these functions during idle times. In anotherembodiment, a circuit within the removable data cartridge 106, butoutside the HDD could perform the determination and possible refresh.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. The software codes may be storedin memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may beimplemented within the processor or external to the processor, in whichcase it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via variousmeans as is known in the art.

While the principles of the disclosure have been described above inconnection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearlyunderstood that this description is made only by way of example and notas limitation on the scope of the disclosure.

1. An archival cartridge management system for conditioning removabledata cartridges and normal archival operations, comprising: a pluralityof cartridge holders configured to be coupled to a plurality ofremovable data cartridges, wherein: the plurality of cartridge holderscomprise a cartridge holder, the plurality of removable data cartridgescomprises a removable data cartridge, and the cartridge holder comprisesa connector, wherein the connector is configured for coupling with theremovable data cartridge; a controller coupled to the plurality ofconnectors, wherein: the controller performs archival functions on theplurality of removable data cartridges, the controller reads from theplurality of removable data cartridges to determine if at least somedata stored on the removable data cartridge should be refreshed, and thecontroller refreshes data stored on the removable data cartridge based,at least in part, on the determination.
 2. The archival cartridgemanagement system for conditioning removable data cartridges and normalarchival operations as recited in claim 1, wherein the archivalcartridge management system can monitor the data integrity of theremovable data cartridge.
 3. The archival cartridge management systemfor conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations as recited in claim 1, wherein the archival cartridgemanagement system is adapted to use removable data cartridges thatinclude a hard disk drive.
 4. The archival cartridge management systemfor conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations as recited in claim 1, wherein the archival cartridgemanagement system can automatically refresh data stored on the removabledata cartridge when the data is determined prone to errors.
 5. Thearchival cartridge management system for conditioning removable datacartridges and normal archival operations as recited in claim 1, whereinthe connector electrically communicates between the removable datacartridge and the controller.
 6. The archival cartridge managementsystem for conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations as recited in claim 1, wherein the controller automaticallyperforms its functions on the removable data cartridge.
 7. The archivalcartridge management system for conditioning removable data cartridgesand normal archival operations as recited in claim 1, further comprisinga battery pack to supply power to the archival cartridge managementsystem.
 8. The archival cartridge management system for conditioningremovable data cartridges and normal archival operations as recited inclaim 1, further comprising a battery pack to supply power to thearchival cartridge management system, wherein the battery pack iscoupled to the connector.
 9. The archival cartridge management systemfor conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations as recited in claim 1, wherein: the removable data cartridgecomprises a hard disk drive, and the hard disk drive includes an errorcorrection circuit.
 10. The archival cartridge management system forconditioning removable data cartridges and normal archival operations asrecited in claim 1, further comprising a cartridge database, wherein:the cartridge database stores information on the plurality of removabledata cartridges, and the cartridge database can be used to determinewhen the removable data cartridge should be refreshed.
 11. A method forconditioning removable data cartridges and normal archival operationsperformed with a cartridge holder, the method comprising steps of:accepting insertion of the removable data cartridge; performing archivalfunctions on removable data cartridges; reading information fromremovable data cartridges; automatically determining if at least somedata stored on a removable data cartridge should be refreshed, whereinthe determining step is performed outside the removable data cartridge;and refreshing data stored on the removable data cartridge based, atleast in part, on the automatically determining step, wherein theperforming and refreshing steps are performed with the cartridge holder.12. The method for conditioning removable data cartridges and normalarchival operations performed with the cartridge holder as recited inclaim 11, wherein the information is stored in an archival sense field.13. The method for conditioning removable data cartridges and normalarchival operations performed with the cartridge holder as recited inclaim 11, further comprising a step of maintaining an archival sensefield, which is indicative of when data should be refreshed.
 14. Themethod for conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations performed with the cartridge holder as recited in claim 11,wherein the determining step comprises steps of: reading data from theremovable data cartridge; and determining that data is in peril of beinglost.
 15. The method for conditioning removable data cartridges andnormal archival operations performed with the cartridge holder asrecited in claim 11, wherein the determining step comprises steps of:analyzing the information; and determining that data is in peril ofbeing lost.
 16. The method for conditioning removable data cartridgesand normal archival operations performed with the cartridge holder asrecited in claim 11, wherein the removable data cartridge comprises ahard drive.
 17. The method for conditioning removable data cartridgesand normal archival operations performed with the cartridge holder asrecited in claim 11, further comprising a step of performing a mediarefresh operation that reads and re-writes data to the removable datacartridge.
 18. A method for conditioning removable data cartridges andnormal archival operations performed with a cartridge holder, the methodcomprising steps of: accepting insertion of the removable datacartridge; writing information to removable data cartridges with thecartridge holder; reading information from removable data cartridgeswith the cartridge holder; automatically determining if at least somedata stored on a removable data cartridge is prone to errors, whereinthe automatically determining step is performed outside the removabledata cartridge; and refreshing data stored on the removable datacartridge with the cartridge holder based, at least in part, on thedetermining step.
 19. The method for conditioning removable datacartridges and normal archival operations performed with the cartridgeholder as recited in claim 18, further comprising a step of reading anarchival sense field from the removable data cartridge.
 20. The methodfor conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations performed with the cartridge holder as recited in claim 18,further comprising a step of maintaining an archival sense field, whichis indicative of when data should be refreshed.
 21. The method forconditioning removable data cartridges and normal archival operationsperformed with the cartridge holder as recited in claim 18, wherein thedetermining step comprises steps of: reading data from the removabledata cartridge; and determining that data is in peril of being lost. 22.The method for conditioning removable data cartridges and normalarchival operations performed with the cartridge holder as recited inclaim 18, wherein the determining step comprises steps of: analyzing theinformation; and determining that data is in peril of being lost. 23.The method for conditioning removable data cartridges and normalarchival operations performed with the cartridge holder as recited inclaim 18, wherein the refreshing step is performed autonomously by theremovable data cartridge.
 24. The method for conditioning removable datacartridges and normal archival operations performed with the cartridgeholder as recited in claim 18, wherein the cartridge holder accepts aplurality of removable data cartridges simultaneously.
 25. The methodfor conditioning removable data cartridges and normal archivaloperations performed with the cartridge holder as recited in claim 18,wherein the removable data cartridge comprises at least one of a harddrive and a solid state drive.